Looking For Raziel
by NiennorNight
Summary: Malec Human!AU, where Magnus is a famous singer and Alec an 18-year old boy with a secret, looking for a part-time job! [I co-wrote this fic with my parabatai, who is Aeriels Stories on Ao3, and we are reposting it here now.] - [Unfortunately, the fic is incomplete, but we will write an epilogue to resolve it as much as possible!]
1. A Fateful Meeting

**About the story:** [The fic about to follow is a story from my dearest parabatai's and my RP accounts as Malec, on twitter! Thus, the story format is a little more fragmental than your usual fic.] (She has no account here, but you can find her as "Aeriels_Stories" on Ao3)

 **[Aeriels_Stories' parts are Magnus, Tessa, and Ragnor, (Warlock team FTW yay!) and mine are Alec, Izzy and Jace. There are some minor chars here and there too!]**

 **~o~**

* * *

Alexander Lightwood was walking down the street, his headphones on, ignoring the world while listening to his favourite singer's latest album. Suddenly something caught his eye and he froze, staring at it.

"Well… I **was** looking for a job…" He mutters to himself picking up the "Help wanted" ad and studying it. "No harm trying…" He mutters again heading to the address on the paper, humming along to the song currently playing.

~o~

Magnus Bane was clearly stressed, pacing in his dressing room.

"I need that assistant for **yesterday**. How hard could it be to find someone fitting the profile? 'No touching, no lovey-dovey eyes, no selling my underwear on Ebay.' … I'm sick of… **sick** people." He sighs and ends up sitting again, for the fourth or fifth time in a row, on the chair in front of the mirror. "Ragnor, could you **please** check my make-up again? I want to be perfect for…"

"Mags, you're always **perfect,** okay? I checked ten times." The green-haired man, Ragnor Fell (his personal hairdresser and beautician), puts his hands on his shoulders, slightly massaging them. "You need to relax… You'll do great out there."

"I'm not so sure anymore… I think I lost my muse and I desperately need to find it again."

~o~

Meanwhile, Alec reaches his destination and heads to the building's reception, taking off his ear-buds. "Excuse me…" He says politely, showing the paper on his hand. "I'm here for the 'assistant' position. Has it been covered?"

The woman behind the desk stares intensely at him and then smiles. "You're cute. I think he'll love you. You can go in whenever you are ready. Second door to the right. Good luck~"

He blushes and mutters "I'm not cute…" Then nods and says, "Okay… Thank you." He goes to the door, takes a deep breath and knocks.

Magnus hears it and makes a face. "Can you get rid of… whoever is knocking? I'm getting a headache."

Ragnor rolls his eyes, saying. "I'm not your assistant, Magnus. You go."

"But you work for me! I pay you!"

"Not enough…" The man mutters, and Magnus frowns before getting up to open the door.

"Fine, I'll take care of that… just this one time." Hearing a knock again, makes his frown deepen. "I'm coming! Who the hell is thi-?" He freezes on the spot then, totally captivated by the person on the other side of the door. "There you are…" He whispers in a really low voice. 'My muse…' adds to himself.

Stares at him for a second then hastily drops his eyes. "I'm really sorry to bother you… The lady at the reception told me to knock here for the assistant position." Steals a glance at him through his eyelashes, his head still low, waiting.

Clears his throat, trying to hide the urge to kiss the boy in front of him. "Yes, of course! Your name is…?" Lets him in, checking out his ass while he does so.

Ragnor only smirks at the scene.

"My name is Alec…" He says turning to look at him. "Alec Lightwood."

"Alec… It comes from Alexander, right? Can I call you Alexander? Oh, but of course I can, I'm your new boss after all." He grins, leaning against the wall. "I assume you know who I am…"

"I'd rather you didn't…" He mutters frowning and then answers his question. "Yeah, I've heard of you." He lies, thinking, 'Huge understatement.' and then realizes what Magnus told him. "Wait, you said new boss? I just arrived!"

"Well, you're cute. Dark hair, blue eyes… My favourite combination." Winks at him and walks to the chair to sit down. "So, you'll get my phone calls, bring me coffee, take my clothes to the dry cleaner's and the most important thing, you'll be in charge of my schedule. Are you in?" Magnus looks at the boy through the mirror, trying to decipher his body language… in vain.

"I'm not cute…" He mutters for the second time in the last ten minutes, crossing his arms over his chest, then nods when Magnus is done, and answers, doing his best to sound indifferent. "Is that all? Okay. Easy." He smirks looking at him.

That wasn't what he expected. At all. So he can't help but laugh, openly.

Ragnor goes to the rescue then, extending a hand for Alec to shake. "I'm Ragnor Fell, his hairdresser, beautician and pretty much the only friend he has. Nice to meet you, Alec." Winks at him.

"Hey, for your information, I have a lot of friends. **A lot** , wa~y nicer than you." Says back Magnus.

"Yeah, yeah." Ragnor winks at the boy once again.

Smiles, relaxing a little, enjoying their antiques, and shakes his hand, nodding. "Nice to meet you."

With an arrogant smile, Magnus gets up, walks to Alec and imitates Ragnor's gesture, extending a hand. "Nice to meet you… Alexander."

Alec looks at him, and gulps, his blue eyes widening ever so slightly, not expecting he would ever do something like that. "I thought your rules said **'No touching'**?" He asks carefully while raising a questioning eyebrow at him, not taking his hand yet, while chanting in his head: 'Please don't touch me, please don't touch me…' worrying that if Magnus does, his carefully constructed Façade will crumble and everything will be lost. He was being very clear after all. He didn't want fans working for him. On his way there, Alec was building up defenses, determined to look indifferent, while on the inside he was screaming even at the thought of seeing him up close. Somehow, surprising even himself, he had managed not to mess things up so far…

If that was some kind of test it wasn't working for Magnus. If any, he was determined to break any barrier that kept him from making any move towards the boy. "Yeah, boring rules… I wrote them, that's true, but only for nuisance fans… You don't look like one of those so…" Arches an eyebrow with his hand still raised, waiting. "I don't bite… much." Adds with a lopsided smile.

His heart skips a beat. 'Why are you so outrageously beautiful?' He thinks seeing his smile. It takes all his self-control to keep his features in check even though he can't help but blush at his comment. He bites his lip trying to keep his composure and gives Magnus his slightly trembling hand, trying not to think about it. His heart is beating rapidly, while on the outside he smiles softly playing it cool. "Oh, Okay then… It's nice to meet you too…"

In a quick and sudden movement, he pulls the boy to him, so close he could lose himself into his eyes if he wanted, to whisper. "I know what you're playing at and I'm **so** going to win…" As he lets an astonished Alec go, his smile widens. "When can you start?"

has stopped working. Circuits overloaded. Please restart system./

Magnus pulls him close to whisper and his heart stops as he feels his hot breath on him. When he lets him go, he stumbles backwards desperate to put distance between them, as he turns impossibly red and stutters. "Wha-what are you talking about, I, I-I'm not playing at-at anything…" He takes another step back, hitting the wall while staring at him, unable to look away.

His smile is even more dangerous now. So the boy **is** affected by him… He **knew** it. Now the only thing he needs is Ragnor out of the picture so he can have a private conversation with his new… employee. Completely dismissing Alec's words, Magnus turns to look at his friend. "Would you please go? I need some time for myself before going on air." He then turns to the boy. "That doesn't include you since you're my assistant."

Ragnor simply raises an eyebrow saying before exiting the dress room. "Oookay, give me a little whistle if you need me~"

'God, why is he smiling like that? He's so-…' Alec thinks enchanted, about to leave, when Magnus' next words stop him in place. Before he has time to argue, Ragnor leaves instead and he is left frozen, staring at Magnus, his mind in overdrive. 'What was I thinking? I can't do this… He knows… Don't look at me…'  
"I should…" He manages to say hesitating, pointing to the door, but is unable to move forward, because he would have to pass too close to Magnus to leave.

"Well… It's true that your contract isn't done yet so until then you aren't my employee… **Mea culpa.** " His playful smile is still there as he gets up and walks to him. "But you could grant me some time to know each other. I ask you things and you answer. That simple."

He's still staring at his smile mesmerized, but then confusion overcomes everything else, snapping him out of the daze. "Why would you want to know me?" He asks perplexed, looking at him.

 **"Because** **…"** He's awfully close to him once again. "You know everything about me and I find that **really** unfair."

He tries to take another step back but hits the wall. Finding it hard to breathe, he lies again, doing his best to sound calm. "I don't know everything about you…"

Bites his lip, trying to keep himself from laughing. "Oh? So now there's one thing I know about **you**."

'Please don't do that…' He thinks but then feels like Magnus is mocking him and asks, a bit annoyed. "And what is that?"

"Let's say… that you need to improve your ability to lie." Wiggles his eyebrows. "Favourite song?"

His extreme stubbornness causes his annoyance to overcome everything and he is able to resist. "What?" He frowns. "I'm an actor, I can lie perfectly fine! And what would I be lying about?" He pauses, and then adds, lying again. "It's **'Curse my name'**."

"Sure…" Magnus whispers, looking right into his eyes, closing the distance between them even more. "I wouldn't mind if you did that while I'm making love to you though…" Says referring to the song's title.

'Wha…t?' Alec's mind almost going blank at his words and he blushes even more, feeling he will faint if this keeps up, so even though all he wants is to lean closer, he puts his hands on Magnus' chest pushing him away. (Not hard, just to make his point.) "What are you talking about?"

Looks down at his hands and up to his eyes again, suddenly feeling an urge to lean forward to capture those perfect lips. "A tough one…? Fantastic, I **love** challenges."

He clears his throat which has gone dry and says in his most professional tone. "Mr. Bane, I came here to be your assistant. Not a fling." He knows Magnus couldn't be more serious than that about him.

"Mr. Bane… I like the sound of that in your lips. We could try it someday… in my bed." He winks at him before stepping back to let him breathe. "A 'fling', huh…? Nah… Well then, I'll tell Tessa to call you once the contract is made. You know where the door is."

He nods biting his lip again, wondering if he angered him or insulted him. There is nothing he can do though, so he moves to the door opening it and stepping out. He looks up at him and mutters, loud enough to be heard. "I'm sorry." And then he closes the door, and runs away. Really really runs and doesn't stop until he is out of the building.

~o~

Meanwhile, Magnus stares confused at the door, trying to figure out what Alec meant by that, why he apologized. He then calls Tessa and she appears in the room right after.

"Did you call me?"

"Yeah… You saw the boy, right?"

Tessa just nods.

"Was he…? I mean, do you think he looked interested? In working for me or personally."

"I'm not sure. He looked nervous…But who wouldn't be in a job interview?"

Magnus sighs. "Maybe you're right… Make the contract and call him when you're done."

"Yes, sir." She says before leaving Magnus there, alone with his thoughts.

~o~

He reaches home, sinking breathlessly to the couch, hugging a pillow. "What… just… happened…?" He mutters not believing it, bringing Magnus' words to mind, then dismissing them right after.

"Don't be stupid…" He whispers talking to himself. "Of course he wasn't serious… You've seen his exes… Woosley, and Camille, and so many more of them, all have one thing in common… They are all outrageously beautiful. Even if they are nothing compared to him… And all **I** am is…" He sighs burying his face in the pillows. "I would be nothing more than a game to someone as amazing as him…"

He sighs again, staying there trying to calm down and sometime after, he falls asleep…

 **~o~**

* * *

 **P.S:** English isn't our native language so please forgive any mistakes! ^_^

 **PLEASE READ:** We were also considering making a Malec RP voice blog on Tumblr and we'd love to know your opinion. Would you be interested in something like that?


	2. Broken Hope

The day after, Tessa has the work contract in front of her in the desk, dialling Alec's phone number. She was supposed to call earlier but she had a lot of backlog to do. Magnus was a handful sometimes.

Alec is woken up by his phone ringing. He opens his eyes disorientated, realising he fell asleep on the couch and reaches for it picking it up. "Hello?"

"I'm sorry, did I just wake you up? It's 2 p.m. Rise and shine, sweetheart~" The woman says, as in joking. "I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Tessa, Magnus Bane's secretary. I'm calling you because of the work contract. Could you come over later?"

"2 p.m?" He shots up from the couch. 'God, I overslept…' "Yes, hello, it's nice to meet you, I am Alec…" He pauses. "But you know that already… I can, yeah, about what time do you want me to be there?"

Tessa giggles while toying with a pencil. "Yeah, I pretty much know everything about you, honey. Well, ahm… Since Magnus has an appointment at 7pm, what about you coming around 5.30? Oh, and one more thing. You need to wear a suit."

"Everything?" Then his eyes widen. 'I don't have a suit!' But he doesn't say anything. "Oh… okay… I will be there…"

"I take my job very seriously, Alec." Tessa smiles, then greets a man passing by waving a hand towards him. "I'll see you later then~"

"Goodbye…" Once she hangs up, he starts panicking. "What am I going to do?" Then it hits him. While running around to feed his cat, he calls his parent's house.

"Yes?" Comes the answer after three rings.

"Jace!" He shouts once his brother picks up. "I need your help! Is Izzy there too?"

"Yes, she is here, what happened?"

"Great. I need to borrow a suit… I will tell you more details up close, I'm coming over now, neither of you leave!" He hangs up and shouts to the cat. "Gabriel, I'm leaving!" Then grabbing his helmet he runs downstairs to his motorcycle and in ten minutes he is there.

~o~

Magnus is in the rehearsal room, singing the new single when Tessa knocks the door. He stops and turns while telling her to come in. "Did something happen?"

"No, everything's alright. I came to tell you that the boy is coming later, I 'summoned' him at 5.30pm."

"Excellent…" Magnus smiles picking up the bottle from the stool beside him and sipping on it. "I can't wait to see him again. I was thinking about him all night…"

"Too much information, Mags." The woman smiles. "You like him that much?"

"I'm not sure, I…. The moment I saw him I felt…" Sighing, he ends up sitting on the stool, his hands covering his face. "I think I **love** him."

"But that isn't bad. Well, it's… weird but definitely not bad. So… go for it?"

After moving away his hands, his expression is back to a playful one. "Yeah, I'm Magnus Bane after all. No one can resist me."

~o~

Upon Alec's arrival to his childhood home, Izzy welcomes him. "Where's the fire brother?"

He smiles, at her. "Hey sis. You're going to **love** this. I need your help. For now let's say I found a job as an assistant, and I have to be there in a suit in two hours. I will explain more while getting ready so I won't be late."

She beams. "Congrats Alec! C'mon then!" She pulls him inside where he tells Jace the same thing. His brother gives him a black suit with a blue tie and while getting dressed Alec starts explaining.

"Izzy, you better sit down. And please keep calm."

She raises a questioning eyebrow but obeys, sitting on the bed, while Jace stands by the door.

"Now… Let me give you a clue about my new boss…" He smirks picking up his phone, finding one of Magnus' songs in it, and pressing play. Izzy stares at him not getting it, and then her eyes widen.

"Nooooo"

"Yes!" He beams, and she screams jumping to hug him as he chuckles.

"What are you two talking about?" Jace asks, not understanding.

"He is working for Magnus Bane!" She screams again, excitedly, then as Jace shrugs wondering what's the big deal, she lets Alec go and shouts. "Get dressed! Quickly! I have to fix your hair!"

"What's wrong with my hair?" Alec frowns getting a glare instead of an answer. "Okay, okay…" An hour and a half later he stands outside the house, his hair half-spiked up, waiting for Izzy to get her car to give him a ride since she wouldn't allow him to take his bike to not ruin his hair with the helmet. They reach the building and she gets inside with him.

"Wait a minute." She grabs his hand stopping him, and fixes his tie a little. "Perfect! Good luck cielo." She smiles and gives him a kiss on the cheek then turns to go. "Call me later to pick you up! Love you!"

He smiles warmly at her. "Thank you. Love you too…" He says and goes to talk to Tessa, still smiling.

~o~

Tessa was in the middle of a call, frowning and humming quietly. "Yeah, I understand. I'll let him now… I'm sorry. Yeah… Yeah… No, it's okay. Yeah, thank you. Have a good day." Hanging up, she massaged her temples before realizing that Alec was there, so she puts on her best smile. "Oh, hey Alec, did you wait long? I'm sorry about that."

"Hello." He smiles back politely. "No, don't worry… I **am** a bit early after all…" He says checking his clock. It's 5:15pm.

Checking her own clock, her smile falters. "You're actually right… Time flies. So, the suit. You look **really** good. Someone's gonna be happy~ But let's not anticipate events. Could you wait a minute or two? Magnus is on the rehearsal room… You can sit anywhere you want."

He blushes at the compliment muttering. "Thank you…" And then looks at her questioning, not understanding what she meant by 'someone will be happy'. He lets it go though "Of course… Sorry I was too early… I will wait as long as you need me to." Shrugs and moves to a chair sitting down.

"Oh, it's not because of me, trust me. But Mags is a bit special… He could get angry, like **really** angry if someone interrupts him while he's practicing so… it's better if you stay there."

He chuckles, taking a note to **NEVER** interrupt him. "I understand that, makes sense…"

"I'm glad you got it" She winks at him and starts typing something on her netbook.

~o~

Meanwhile, Ragnor enters the rehearsal room without knocking first, collapsing on a couch right after.

Magnus squints his eyes at him "What the…? **Why** are you here? I'm trying to practice the new singl-"

"You have nothing to do with that Alec guy."

That got Magnus attention. "What do you mean?"

"I saw him with a girl minutes ago. She was beautiful like a model; black hair and dark eyes, red lips, gorgeous body… He's straight and you have zero chances with him. Too bad…"

Magnus bites his lower lip hard, thinking. Maybe that's why Alec stopped him yesterday. It made perfect sense now, but didn't hurt less. "It's okay. Could you let Tessa know that I'm done here?"

"Yeah, sure. Oh, and don't worry, Mags. There are many fish in the sea to pine over one…" Ragnor taps his shoulder and goes to notify Tessa, whilst Magnus stays there, staring blankly at his own reflection. Maybe his friend was right but none of them were Alec.

~o~

Alec is sitting on the chair fiddling idly with the hem of the suit, looking down, trying to calm himself down. Now that he is no longer running around panicked, he starts thinking of Magnus, craving to see him again but also dreading to, not knowing how he'll be able to pull off meeting him again. Especially if he insists on messing with him like he did last time. Thinking of that he blushes biting his lip and violently pushes the thought to the back of his mind. He manages to calm down and then hears steps and raises his head. He sees Ragnor going up to Tessa and whispering something.

Tessa frowns and curses under her breath while waving Ragnor off and looking in Alec's direction. All at once. "Hey, boy. You can come in. And do not try anything stupid. We're watching you." She then fixes her cold gaze on the netbook again, practically smashing the keyboard buttons with her fingers. "Oh, Mags…"

He freezes momentary, stricken by the change in her behaviour, trying to think back, wondering what he did wrong. He drops his head, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach and mutters in a strained voice. "I'm sorry… Did I… do something I shouldn't have…?" He looks at her through his dark eyelashes, not raising his head. He thought he heard her say Magnus' name and guesses he is angry with him too. Even the thought of that is surprisingly painful. He bites his lip, thinking 'I messed up… I managed to make them hate me already… But why…?' He sighs and says in a lower voice. "Was he angry about yesterday…?"

That's when Tessa realizes her mistake. "Oh God, no! You didn't do anything wrong. It's not your fault. It's just…" She sighs shaking her head. "He looked so… excited. I've never seen him like that since… **her**. But that has nothing to do with you so forget I said anything. Just go in there and do your job. Professionalism, that's all I ask of you."

Her answer only makes him more confused, and he wonders what Magnus was excited about and what happened now… 'And who is 'her'?' He thinks, suddenly feeling unreasonably jealous. He sighs inwardly pushing all thoughts aside. 'At least they don't hate me…' Trying to look normal he turns to her. "Oh… of course… You needn't tell me that…" 'It's not like Magnus could ever look at **me** and see anything more than an assistant anyway…' he thinks sadly.

She only stares intently at him and then shrugs. "Get in, he must be waiting for you."

"Oh…" He says again. "Of course, I'm sorry." He hurries away and knocks on Magnus' door bracing himself for what's to come.

 **~o~**

* * *

 **Note by** **Aeriel:** "Cielo" is a Spanish (Hispanic) word meaning "darling" or "beloved" in English, basically a pet name.


	3. Interview for Raziel

"Come on in." Is the only thing Magnus says, sitting as he is on the piano bench, tenderly stroking the keys.

Alec bites his lip, taking a deep breath and slowly opens the door. Magnus is sitting on the piano bench, his slender fingers on the keys, playing softly. He freezes staring at the singer, his heart beating wildly on his chest. 'How can someone so perfect really exist…?' He thinks mesmerised, thanking his stars that he was fortunate enough not only to be able to meet Magnus but also talk and maybe work with him.

Magnus knows he's being watched but the last thing he wants to do is face Alec so he keeps playing instead, eyes closed, just feeling the music. That always made him feel good, blissful, complete. However, it doesn't last long since he has to work. Eventually, he gets up from the piano bench and slowly turns to Alec; a melancholic look on his eyes, a sharp pain like a stab on his heart just by looking at the gorgeous boy. "Alec."

The song stops all too soon and Magnus slowly gets up and turns to face him. It takes all of Alec's self-control to not gasp as he looks at him. 'Why do you look so sad…?' Seeing him like that, he feels a stab of pain on his heart. 'What can I do… To make you feel better…?' He thinks, knowing there is nothing **he** could possibly do, but wishing that wasn't the case… "Hello…" He only says in a low voice, looking into his eyes, not knowing how he should address him.

"Mr. Bane should be fine. Magnus with time… That, if you don't get bored first." His expression closes up, turning into a neutral one. "But let's get to work. Take a look at my schedule and tell me what's next."

'Bored? Are you out of your mind?!' he wants to shout at him but holds his tongue. "Yes …" He says dropping his eyes, hurt by the change in his attitude, (even though he knows, he has no right to be), wondering if yesterday was just a crazy dream. 'Maybe I was too drunk in his presence I imagined the whole thing…' He thinks grimly, and then scolds himself. 'What are you being sad about? What did you expect? That he would even look at someone **trivial** like you?' Suppressing all the negative thoughts, he moves closer, so Magnus can give him the schedule.

As Magnus passes the schedule to him, their hands touch by accident. That makes his heart skip a beat, his pulse quickening and his throat getting dry. Alec's skin against his own is electrifying, addictive, he cannot get enough. But Ragnor told him, he's straight and in no way interested in him **that** way so he quickly steps back, pulling his hand away. "I need to know what's my appointment after the interview at 7pm. so check it out fast and let's get going. You're coming with me." He says rather harshly.

Their hands brush and Alec feels as if an electric current went through him. His eyes widen as his heartbeat accelerates but luckily Magnus isn't looking at him so he doesn't see his reaction. His heart is beating so loudly he is afraid Magnus will hear it. Of course he doesn't. Instead, he jerks his hand away and speaks, his voice professional and sharp and Alec feels a stab of pain again at the coldness and anger he hears in it and he looks at him for a second, his blue eyes full of anguish, before dropping them to the floor so he won't see. "Yes …" He repeats. "I'm sorry…" He adds again, wishing he'd know what he did wrong, to make him react like that, wondering if it was the way he acted or the things he told Magnus the day before. He checks the schedule, his hands trembling slightly. "After the interview at 7pm. you have a dinner appointment with Greene at 9pm."

Alec suppresses a sigh, feeling a pang of jealousy. The boy in question is one of Magnus' exes. A model staring with him in many past music videos. He is absolutely stunning and also Magnus' type, having blue eyes and dark hair. "The appointment is about your new music video where he will be starring once more." He adds, giving Magnus the details, trying to sound professional as he said he'd be. Worst thing of all, is that the ignorant, blind boy was the one who broke up with Magnus not too long ago, not the other way round. So Magnus could still be in love with him… 'What's it to you?' he scolds himself once more. 'You have **no** right to be jealous!' Concerned, he wants to ask Magnus if he's going to be okay, but doesn't dare to pry. '…That Matt guy must be insane though… Who in their right mind would break up with Magnus?'

Oh, of course. Matt Greene. When they broke up a few months ago after some… differences, Magnus thought he wouldn't see him again. But their signed contract says otherwise… Sighing, he nods. "9pm… Right. I see you're wearing a suit already, was it Tessa's idea?" He observes Alec with appreciation, scanning every body part of his, hungry to touch him. He **really** was gorgeous. "I didn't know you could own a suit. After seeing you yesterday with that… sweater of yours and those frayed pants… Well, you know where I'm going. Anyway," He adds quickly. "Let's go. I need to be on time for the interview. It's for the new single, after all."

Hearing him sound more 'normal' he raises his eyes to look at him and answer his question. "Yeah… she told me to, when we spoke on the phone…" He blushes then. "The truth is I didn't… It's my brother's…" 'No, I really don't know where you're going with anything…' he thinks confused by the constant changes in Magnus' behaviour. "I'm sorry, yesterday I came here straight after uni so…" He stops talking abruptly shaking his head. "I'm really sorry! I'm wasting your time!" Taking the schedule with him he walks towards the door waiting for him.

~o~

The drive to the studio where he would be interviewed was somewhat long and tiresome. In addition to that, Alec's presence, sitting right beside him, was getting on his nerves. Basically just because he couldn't normally talk to him without wanting more. After a few minutes, they arrive and the interview takes place without mishap.

"What's is the name of the new single?" The journalist asks.

"Raziel. Next."

"Where do you find the inspiration to write your songs?"

"In the people close to me. Next."

"My sources told me that you have an appointment with Mr. Matt Greene this evening to talk about the video clip of Raziel. What do you feel about that since you two broke up not long ago?"

'Well, shit, that was a good question. One that I wouldn't answer. Not even for all the gold in the world.' Magnus thought to himself. "It's true that I have an appointment with him, a business meeting. Nothing more. And I'd appreciate if you don't ask about my private life."

"Of course. Last question then. Are you in love at the moment? Before you say anything, I **know** you don't want to talk about that but your fans are very eager to know because they love you."

"If they really love me they wouldn't mind who I'm meeting this evening or even who I'm having sex with. Famous or not, my life is mine and mine alone. That should be all. Thank you. Have a good night." He gets up then walking back to the car, the dumbfounded interviewer staring back at him. Once he and Alec reach the car, he sits inside the car, furiously taking off his tie. "I hate when they do that. Those… bastards. I hope they become famous someday so they can feel the way I do with questions like those." Running a hand through his hair, Magnus tries to calm himself before going to see Matt or he'll explode.

Alec looks at him concerned, biting his lip, angry at the interviewer for bringing him to that state. Still, he can't help but notice how gorgeous Magnus looks even when he's so frustrated. "Are you okay…?" He asks softly, aching to reach out and touch him, to comfort and calm him down somehow, but not daring to. He is supposed to be acting professionally after all. "I know it's not my place to say that, and you probably don't want to hear anything from someone like me, but I **will** tell you anyway… Just this once. I'm sure your fans are only being curious because they care and want to know you are happy…" 'At least that's what **I** do… Since I could never have you, I wish you will be happy with whoever you are dating…' He thinks melancholically. "I understand it is annoying, but I'm sure they mean well, and I bet that if they knew you dislike personal questions so much they would immediately shut up."

Alec said all that looking at Magnus and speaking in a low soothing voice he always used with Izzy when she was upset hoping it would work on him too, even a little and help him relax. "I will shut up now too. I'm sorry for prying and possibly annoying you further…" He adds in the end, dropping his eyes and bracing for his answer, praying he didn't make him angrier.

Alec's words of support are like a breath of fresh air. He can feel his anger relenting, his pulse rate slowing down to a normal speed. Magnus looks at the boy and all he can think about is how much he wants to spend the rest of his life with him, waking up and falling asleep beside him. But life isn't easy, much less for Magnus. So he just nods at Alec's words, looking away even when it hurts by doing so. "It's okay, I'm used to it. Thanks for the nice speech though."

"Oh…" He blushes, not expecting that. "Of course…" His words make him sad though. Being used to something painful so it won't hurt anymore… All he wants is to take all pain away from him… But it's not his place to do that, so he just nods, muttering in response. "You're welcome…"

Shrugging, Magnus turns to the driver to give him indications. "We're going back to Bane Records. I need to get ready for the meeting dinner with Mr. Greene. Quick, please. Avoid traffic if you can."

"Yes sir" The driver answers diligently heading to the Studio.


	4. Uncovered past affairs

Once they arrive, Alec turns to look at him. "Umm…" He asks nervously. "Mr. Bane? What do you want **me** to do?"

Glancing at him he answers before getting off the car **.** "You can wait here or at the reception. Your choice."

"Oh… Okay. I will wait inside then." The boy mutters.

"Right." Magnus says, leaving the door open for him, entering the building right after.

Alec follows him and enters the building too, sitting down at the reception, to wait for him to return.

"Tessa." Magnus greets the girl and climbs the stairs to look for Ragnor. He needs him, more than ever.

Tessa doesn't have the time to answer so she frowns instead and turns to look at Alec. "I'm guessing the interview didn't go too well…"

He frowns too. "No…"

She gets up then and goes to sit by his side. "What happened?"

He sighs looking at her and says, keeping his voice low. "At first all seemed to be okay, but then the interviewer started asking him personal questions, first about who he is meeting later today, and then if he's in love at the moment. He got angry, because he had warned him not to ask that type of questions and snapped at him and left… "

Her eyes widen at his explanation, fully understanding Magnus' behaviour. "Oh God, Matt? You're kidding, right? I can't believe it… That pompous little… brat." She shakes her head, then takes a deep breath. "Now I get it. He must be hysterical… Can't blame him."

He looks at her worried and asks without thinking about it. "Will he be okay? He said he's used to it by now and seemed calmer, but…" He stops for a moment and frowns again. "Were things that bad between them?" He asks knowing the answer, but wanting a confirmation too, by someone close to Magnus.

"Trust me, he always says that, even when he's **dying** inside. Things between them weren't bad, they were worse." Tessa isn't sure if she should be talking about her friend's affairs with Alec but somehow she feels like he can be trusted. "Matt toyed with Magnus and once he got all he wanted and more, he threw him away like a used tissue paper. I can assure you tonight he won't be okay but if you're there maybe it will be more… bearable."

At first he's just worried, but then anger flashes in his eyes at the new information. "What?" Not caring about his façade at the moment, he asks her through gritted teeth. "Say, Miss Tessa… Do you really **need** that guy for the video? Would it be very bad if something were to happen to him?"

She looks suspiciously at him. "Why do **you** care? It's so difficult to read you… At first, you seemed unaffected and now you're asking me if you can kill Matt and make it look like an accident. Who are **you** exactly, Alexander Lightwood?"

His eyes widen for a second, realising his mistake but he regains his composure and answers her. "I'm **no** **one**. It's just that… Mr. Bane seems like a really kind person, and I hate people like that Matt guy, taking advantage of nice people and hurting them."

She smirks then. "Sure thing, **champ**. You may fool Magnus but you can't fool **me**. He's too innocent for his own good sometimes but I learned some acting lessons at the New York Film Academy so I kinda see through your façade… Say, which Acting School?"

He sighs defeated, smiling bitterly at her. "There really was no actual lie in this sentence though…" 'Especially the **no one** part…' He thinks, and then it hits him and he smirks back at her. "Is that so…? Was it because you took acting lessons, or because you know **everything** about me as you said before?"

Tessa giggles then, unable to keep silent much longer. "You got me, pretty boy. Oh, how bad you got me… I'm sorry, that was… lame, I know. I guess I just wanted to… help a friend. Didn't work too well though."

He laughs too. "Don't apologise! It was good! And you don't need to worry… I **swear** I wouldn't do **anything** to harm him." He tells her, his tone serious, looking into her eyes so she can see he's telling the truth. "Mr. Bane is also aware I am an actor by the way… I told him yesterday… Though…" He blushes at the memory. "I'm not sure he heard me… Or cared."

"I know, don't sweat it. And… Mr. Bane? Did he tell you to call him that? Oh my God, makes him look like an old man…" Giggles a bit more, then regains her composure to ask firmly. "He flirted with you but you turned him down, right? I suppose you had your reasons… or, more specifically, **a** reason."

"He did say that, yeah…" He says, and then blushes even more at her spot on next guess and mutters. "How did you…" He looks down at his hands, fiddling nervously with the hem of the sleeve again. "My reason…" He mutters, thinking: 'If he knew the truth he would send me away… And even though **l** love him, I know **he** could never have any serious feelings for someone like me…'

"I knew from the first time I saw you come through that door." Tessa smiles "And let's also say… that I've known him for a long time now."

 **~o~**

Meanwhile, Magnus managed to find Ragnor, who was doing his own nails and looked up the moment he saw him from the corner of his eye.

"Mags? What…?" He interrupted himself taking in his expression as a bad omen. "Did something bad happen?"

"That damn interviewer happened. Matt happened. **My life** happened. I hate all this…" Magnus sat on the couch in the dress room, covering his face with both hands, and Ragnor got up and went to him, the nail polish forgotten.

"What's with Matt again? I thought you broke up with him months ago."

"We did. I mean, **he** did. But we have an appointment today, a dinner meeting and I want to look good **so** bad just to show him what he's missing, you know?"

"Yeah… I get it. But that won't change anything."

"I know…" Magnus sounded miserable, breaking Ragnor's heart.

"Mags, get a grip on yourself. You're stronger than you think. You've had worse."

Sighing loudly, he moved his hands away from his face and looked at Ragnor. "As my best friend, Ragnor, I'm **begging** you, help me with this."

"Of course, Mags. You know I will." Ragnor said, with a pained expression. He truly cared about Magnus and he'd do anything for him.

 **~o~**

"What do you mean?" Alec asks her, not getting it at first. "Ah… He said he likes blue eyes and dark hair, is that why? But still…" He mutters, adding under his breath. "That's all I have…" He shakes his head then, changing the subject. "Doesn't matter. Please, Tessa, uhm, sorry… can I call you that? Can you please tell me what to do so he'll be okay at that dinner?"

Tessa looks surprised. "He even told you that? Wow, he **really** showed his hand to you… That's a new one." She mutters that last part before paying attention to Alec's final words. "You can call me Tessa, yeah. And my advice to you is to support him in everything he says, whatever it is."

"What are you two talking about? Me?" Magnus appears right behind them, shocking them both.

Tessa quickly gets up, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Relax, Tessa. I know you're worried about me. It's okay. As for you, Alexander," Turns to look at the boy. "Get up and let's get going. I don't want to be late."

He doesn't understand how that's 'showing his hand' but he just nods at Tessa, taking note of her next words, when suddenly he hears Magnus' voice right behind them making his heart beat faster. Before he has time to calm down, Magnus calls him by his full name and his heart skips a beat. He realises that even though he hates anyone else saying it, he loves it when **Magnus** does… There is no time to daydream though, and he gets up hastily as prompted. "Yes, I'm so-" His words die at his mouth as soon as he lays his eyes on him, and he freezes, looking at him, his blue eyes widening. 'Oh my God…' is all he can think, staring at him.

He looks impossibly gorgeous. He's wearing knee high boots and tight leather dark purple pants, with three shining silver belts around his slender waist. Alec gulps. His shirt is blood red, hugging his perfect body, and over it he wears a leather jacket with fur around the hood, the same colour as his shirt. His raven hair is styled in half spikes and full of glitter. ' **How** and **why** can he be so heartbreakingly perfect…?' His dazed mind can manage to piece out before he meets Magnus eyes, and shuts down. His eyes are the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. Green with flecks of gold scattered around the iris, and as if this wasn't enough, he has highlighted them with a black glittery pencil making them stand out even more. Alec sways slightly just by looking at him and realises it's because he forgot how to breath. He reaches out and takes hold of the couch to keep himself standing, trying, but unable to peel his eyes off Magnus.

Magnus can't help but notice Alec's blue eyes on him, making his insides burn. Seeing the boy reacting that way in his presence gives Magnus a little bit of hope. Maybe he isn't **that** straight after all. He could be bi. Everyone is bi until proven otherwise. Then, Magnus slightly shakes his head, trying to keep a cool head. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you just fell in love with me." Half jokes with a poker face, grinning.

' **Just** fell in love with you? How sorely mistaken you are…' Alec thinks after hearing his words. 'Pull it together!' He scolds himself. 'If he finds out the truth you'll never see him again!' He tries to regain his composure, even though his cheeks are burning and he chuckles, walking towards the door, acting cool, making sure to **not** look at him again. "How so?"

He stares at the boy then, trying to detect a lie in his words but he can't find any. Magnus is starting to be fed up of the situation, he just wants to go back to his normal crazy self so tonight he will do whatever it takes to make that happen. Following him, he leans in to whisper in his ear. "Forget I said anything, darling. Jokes aren't my strong point. My bad." Then he turns to say goodbye to Tessa, blowing her a kiss, and passes Alec to be the first to sit inside the car.

Alec feels his heart stop again when Magnus leans close to whisper to him. Then he is gone, and Alec is left staring after him longingly, now that Magnus can't see. He sighs under his breath and turns to Tessa. "Goodnight…" He mutters and rushes after him, not wanting to keep him waiting and enters the car, pretending to study the schedule in his hands so he won't have to look at him again.


	5. Enough is enough

When they arrive to the restaurant, a fancy one, it's almost 9pm. The maître takes them to their table where Matt is already sitting with a glass of wine, most probably of the best harvest. The moment their eyes met, Matt gets up to shake Magnus' hand.

"Matt."

"Magnus, wow. You look fantastic."

"Thanks. Let's sit now." They do and Magnus turns to look at Alec. "This is Alec, my new assistant. He'll be taking notes." Matt looks suddenly annoyed because of Alec's presence, almost as if he wasn't expecting that meeting to be a business one but a personal one instead. A **really** personal one if the hungry stares he was sending Magnus' way were any indication.

Alec looks at Matt, his anger and jealousy bubbling on the inside wanting to scream at him to not stare at Magnus like that. Like he's nothing but a trophy he wants to acquire. He has no right to, when he already hurt him so much. To make matters worse, Matt looks really beautiful. He can't hold a candle to Magnus' overwhelming beauty of course, but still, he's very handsome and Alec can't help but wonder if Magnus would want to get back together with him, even after everything. Fighting back all his feelings and thoughts, he nods politely to him as a way of greeting, taking great pleasure in the annoyed look on his face.

Magnus is extremely pleased with Alec's behaviour in front of Matt. The news of their rupture months ago were much talked-about, with the people commenting on it almost everywhere. Matt decided to end their relationship the same day Magnus proposed to him. Apparently he wasn't ready to marry anyone, to marry **him** in particular, quoting the bastard. But now they were practically strangers again so Magnus could win him over like he did in the past and give him a taste of his own medicine. The thing was, how to do it? Alec was there and he didn't want to flirt with Matt in his presence… though there was no other choice. "You changed your hairstyle. I like it." Smiles playfully, knowing Matt loves when he's that direct. It works.

"Yeah… You know how is this world. You need to change or people get bored of you easily. But that doesn't apply to you… Gorgeous as ever, huh?" Matt grins, obviously getting on with the flirting.

Magnus is aware that he should be talking about business, he has a video clip to make after all and there's a lot of money at stake. But take revenge sounds much better… "Really…? Well, I could say the same about you…" Matt's smile is so wide he could split in two and Magnus can't help but notice how easy is to mess around with him.

Alec feels his heart constrict at their obvious flirting and looks away pretending to busy himself preparing papers getting ready to keep notes trying to look as professional as he can. But it only gets worse. Being done with the papers he tries to keep his composure and just stares at Magnus' lips while he's talking. They are painted dark purple and like everything else on him they are absolutely flawless. All he can think of is how much he'd like to kiss him. This thought only makes him depressed though, since he knows he never will. And it brings him back to the bitter reality, when not only he can't kiss Magnus, but he has to watch idly while he happily flirts around. He sighs inwardly. He's not selfish. If he **knew** Magnus would be happy with that piece of trash he wouldn't care that it kills him watching him flirt. But he doesn't trust Matt and doesn't want Magnus to be hurt again…

Right after, a cute waitress appear with the menu, smiling and giggling because she just met one of her big idols. Magnus smiles at her and signs a photo for her. He always carries some to give away to his fans. That makes her extremely happy, and she takes notes of what they're going to eat with diligence. The flirting between Matt and Magnus continues as they eat, surprising the second of how fool Matt can be. "So, about the video clip, "Raziel". It is an angel so I clearly need someone with angelical looks."

'Someone like **Alec** **.** ' his brain thinks and he can't agree more.

"He falls in love with a warrior, right? And since you called me, I assume you want me to be that angel… I'd love to. Are there any make out scenes?"

Magnus bites back a nasty comment, forcing a devilish smile on his face. "You know me, of course there'll be sexy scenes."

"Great. It's a deal then."

Alec smiles softly watching Magnus being so kind to the girl even though an hour ago he was so cross. However when she leaves and the flirting continues, he drops his eyes again not looking at them, picking at the delicious food but not eating a bite, all his appetite gone as his stomach feels tied into a knot. He gives up on the untouched food taking up his pen again keeping notes trying in vain not to think. He had never considered it before. He always thought the scenes on the videos were pure acting, but now he realises that's not the case, and finds himself unable to stay there another minute.

"Excuse me…" He mutters, addressing Magnus, not caring about Matt at all, gets up, trying to not let his frustration show, and makes his way to the bathroom pushing back the impulse to **run** there. He enters the equally luxurious room closing the door behind him sighing. "Dammit…" 'I can't do it… I can't watch this anymore…' He thinks shaking his head, laughing bitterly without humour. 'I don't think Tessa had a reason to worry… He seems to be enjoying himself after all… But I did promise to be professional…' Sighing he goes to splash some water to his face, trying to calm down.


	6. Seeing Red

**"Warning": There is a mildly verbally "explicit" part around the end.**

* * *

Tessa is at the reception, still focused in her netbook, but her mind is somewhere else. She's really worried about Magnus and that boy, Alec, who won her over already. Matt is a spoilt brat and even cruel if someone gets in his way. That's why she grabs his phone and calls Alec right away. She needs to know if everything's okay.

Suddenly Alec hears Magnus' singing and jumps. "Wha-?" He was so lost in thought he forgot about his cell phone's ringtone. Making a mental note to change it in case it ever rings in front of Magnus, he picks up. "Hello?"

"Alec? Thank God you picked up… How is everything going? Are things with Matt… okay?" She asks hesitantly.

A short mirthless laugh escapes his lips. "Okay? No. Things are **great**. There is no need to worry. Ma- I mean, is happily flirting with him as we speak."

She curses under her breath, running a hand through her wavy brown hair. "Oh God, I knew this would happen… It's worse than I thought… You need to do something, stop Magnus before he hurts himself more." Sighs loudly. "But tell me, how are **you**?" She asks suddenly, sounding interested.

"Stop him? How? What can **I** do?" He asks more than happy to do so, though he doesn't want to vex him. Then adds. "Me? What does it matter how am **I**?" he says a little surprised and then mutters his usual answer to that question, not even bothering to find a better lie or fix the dead tone in his voice. "I'm okay…"

Tessa snorts, leaning back in her chair. "Of course you're okay… Stop fooling yourself, and me. You like him, don't you? Then **talk** to him. Not about your… feelings but about Matt. He can't go on with that… attitude of his."

That wakes him up, her words snapping him out of his depressed state. 'Great. I messed up again…' "Please don't tell him anything…" He pleads in a low voice, and then adds. "Okay… I will. Don't worry."

Huffs, exasperated. "I won't, I'm not a whistle-blower. But I suggest you to tell him… He'll be happy to know~"

Laughs again, bitterly. "Sure…"

Rolls eyes. "Why are you all so negative…? I swear to God… Say, where are you now?"

"All?" He asks confused. "I'm in the bathroom…" He decides to be sincere. "Their flirting was too much to take and I left for a moment to clear my head…"

"Yeah, I'm talking about you men…" Then she giggles at his last words. "That bad?"

He sighs, copying her answer from before. "Worse…" Sighs again. "I really want to hit that guy… He's disgusting."

"I know what you mean… I almost killed him when he broke up with Magnus. You should have seen him. He was… devastated…" She sighs too. "He stopped me before I could do anything to the bastard…"

He bites his lip, his feelings divided between anger and pain, thinking of Magnus heartbroken like that and wanting more than anything to kill the monster that caused him pain. He sighs once more. "I will ask again. Do you **need** him…?"

"It's not for me to decide that, Alec. And I'm not sure if Magnus wants to do that video clip with Matt because of one of his **brilliant** plans or what so…"

"A plan? What do you mean?"

"Can't you tell? Really? Vengeance, of course."

"What? You're telling me he doesn't mean it? He looked convincing enough…" He mutters.

"He studied acting too… That's how we met."

"Oh… Of course he did…" His heart sinks once more as he thinks of the day before, now convinced that Magnus **was** messing with him. "Maybe I should go?"

"He normally uses it for good though…" She shakes her head, internally cursing herself because she knows what Alec must be thinking. "Yeah. I'm sorry… I should go back to work, too. Good luck." She hangs up then, groaning in frustration. "How stupid can I be…?"

Alec sighs heavily one last time. That phone call was a rollercoaster. But somehow, he ended up more depressed than before. He leans against the wall, the cool tiles soothing against his skin. 'I should go…' He thinks but doesn't move.

 **~o~**

Seeing Alec getting up hurts so much he can feel his heart break a little but it can't show on his face so Magnus only nods in approval.

Not much later, Matt does the same saying he has to go to the toilet as well and winking at him before taking off to the men's room. The boy is right there, leaning against the wall, looking at his reflection in the huge mirror. Matt smirks while approaching him. "Alec, right?"

A voice snaps him out of his reverie and he looks up, coming face to face with Matt. ' **Great**. That's all I needed right now.' Struggling to take all aggressive edge off his voice (for now) he answers plainly. "Yes."

Matt grins, noticing the change in Alec, and leans against the sink, right in front of him. "Is there something bothering you? You seemed angry out there. Or should I say… jealous?" His mischievous smile expands.

"What?" He can't help the blush spreading through his pale cheeks 'Was I **that** obvious?' Raises an eyebrow at him, trying to play it cool. "Jealous? What would I be jealous about?" He asks incredulously, painting his voice with disbelief towards Matt's claim.

He doesn't answer for a while, silently checking Alec out. "You're cute… I'd definitely be into you if you were well-known but you are a nobody… Magnus, in other hand, is pretty famous and **hot**. We had lots of sex before, you know that, right? He's sooo good at that…" Matt bites his lower lip. " **So** passionate… A real whore in bed." He smirks. "I made a mistake when I broke up with him but I didn't want to marry him. Like, really? If I were to marry him I'm sure he'd control me. What I do, with who, where… No **fucking** way. Ah-ah." Shakes his head, leaning on Alec's direction. "You get me, right? Nobody likes being controlled…" Shrugs then, leaning back. "However, tonight I'm gonna fuck him reeeal good, **so** hard he won't be able to sit for a whole week… Yeah…" Chuckles, picturing the scene in his mind. "With his legs spread wide, begging me to take him in the ass, moaning my name…" His eyes look for Alec's. "You're just a boy toy for him… You won't be in his bed. **Ever**."

'Ignore him.' He chants in his head 'Ignore him, ignore him, igno- **WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY?!** ' He sees red and barely contains himself not to jump at him, but Matt just keeps talking and talking, snapping Alec's connections to sanity word by word. Speaking for Magnus like that, with not a trace a respect finally does it, and before he can hold himself back, he grabs Matt's shirt, violently banging him to the wall and punching him. "Don't you **DARE** speak about him like that! You **disgusting**!" Punch. " **Miserable**!" Punch. " **Excuse**." Punch. " **of a human**!"

 **~o~**

Both, Alec and Matt, were taking too much time in the toilet and Magnus was starting to get worried. What if something happened…? He gets up and quickly goes to the men's room. What he sees once he enters leaves him paralysed with surprise. Alec has Matt pinned on the wall and he basically is using him like a punching bag. Regaining his senses, Magnus approaches them and grabs Alec's right hand to stop him from ruining things even more. "Alexander, calm down…" He says in a soothing voice.

His mind is blank as he keeps punching him enraged with him for everything he's done and wants to do, when he feels a hand grabbing his arm and hears a voice he adores and recognises immediately, calling his name. He immediately snaps out of the haze and lets his arm fall, though it doesn't since Magnus is still holding it. He turns to look at him, his blue eyes wide as he meets his emerald ones, and he whispers. "Ma… gnus…?" Forgetting to call him as instructed.

"Yeah…" His heart skips a beat when Alec calls him by his name and not Mr. Bane as he instructed him. "It's me… Can you let Mr. Greene go? I'm afraid he cannot breathe…"

'God… What did I do?' He doesn't regret it, but knows that he will probably never see Magnus again now. He stares at him terrified as he speaks calmly to him, and drops his other hand too that was holding the scum. Still looking into Magnus' eyes he whispers. "I'm sorry…" And moving past Magnus he runs away and keeps running, disappearing into the night.


	7. Stay

"Alec, wai-!" Magnus tries to stop him but the boy is already gone. Sighing, he turns to look at Matt, who is half out. "Can you stand? I'll take you home. And don't try **_anything_**. Not even demanding my assistant or I'll end you. You know I will. Are we clear?"

"Y-yeah…"

Coldly, Magnus helps Matt out and together they leave the place and enter a cab. When they arrive, Matt gets out right after he promised Magnus to stay quiet about what happened in the restaurant tonight and then Magnus calls Tessa.

"Mr. Bane, what can I do for yo-?"

"Drop the formalities, Tessa. I want some info and I want it now."

"Right…" Tessa sounds equally confused and scared.

"Give me Alec's address. No… Better yet, his parents' address." When she gives it to him, he instructs the taxi driver to go there, as fast as he can. He arrives just in time to see Alec talking with a girl… Magnus frown, asks the taxi driver to wait for him and gets out. He doesn't like to eavesdrop other's people conversations but this one he's interested in.

 **~o~**

Alec reaches the house and collapses against a wall trying to catch his breath and calm down in vain. After a while he texts Izzy to come out and sighing he pulls at his tie carelessly with one hand while running his fingers through his hair, 'ruining' it with the other, sick of all those things that are nothing like him. And then he hears a 'scream'.

" **ALEXANDER LIGHTWOOD WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THING YOU ARE DOING?!** " He looks up to see a raging Izzy rushing his way to reprimand him for ruining the hair but once she sees the look on his face her attitude changes completely and she whispers worried once reaching him. "Brother? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

He meets her eyes, not saying a word, and then surprises her by pulling her into a hug and burying his face in her hair, whispering too. "I messed up sis…"

"Alec, you're worrying me, what happened?"

He lets her go sighing, sinking on the ground, his hands on his face. "There was this asshole. He was Magnus' ex. He kept talking trash about him, and I lost it and punched him really bad…"

"Are you okay?" She says kneeling beside him and he laughs mirthlessly.

"Really sis? I just told you **_I_** hit someone and you ask if **_I_** am okay?"

She pouts. "From what you said he deserved it. And after all, aren't I allowed to worry about my big brother?"

He sighs, smiling a little at her, and hugs her once more, briefly. "Thank you."

"Of course silly!" She says returning the hug. "What are you gonna do now? Will you stay?"

"No… I came to take my bike…" He smiles sadly at her. "I'll be fine don't worry… Go to sleep. I will call you tomorrow."

"Okay…" She agrees reluctantly knowing he won't say anything else for now. "Goodnight. I love you."

"Love you too…" He mutters as she disappears in the house. He gets up and stands there for a moment, the events repeating themselves in his mind and frustrated, he punches the wall hard, with his left hand. "Stupid!" He hisses through gritted teeth and then he sighs again giving up, and goes to take his bike and return home.

 **~o~**

The girl is as gorgeous as Ragnor described her… Alec's girlfriend, fiancée? He zones out a bit of the conversation until he hears "brother", "sister" and that Matt provoked Alec by saying some bad things about him. Magnus isn't surprised. He knows Matt very well, after all… Paying attention to the siblings, he can see how much they love each other and he can't help but smile. Then, they say goodbye and he sees Alec punching a wall. That's when Magnus decides to act, leaving his hiding place behind. "I found you."

For the second time this night Magnus' voice pulls him out of the haze he's lost in. He jolts and turns to look at him. "Ma-" He almost says again, but now fixes the mistake in time. "Mr. Bane? What are you… doing here…?" He drops his eyes, waiting for him to snap, believing he's certainly angry with him for ruining everything.

"I was worried, you ran away and I didn't know where you went… so I called Tessa." His eyes are fixed on Alec's hand and he can feel himself aching to touch him. "You're hurt…"

"What?" He looks up surprised thinking. _'Worried? Why?'_ and then he sees Magnus looking at his hand. He brings it in front of him to check the damage. It **_does_** hurt a lot. "It's nothing…" He whispers looking down again.

"You need to take care of that." Magnus says taking a step forward. "Come with me, there's a cab waiting right around the corner."

"What?" He repeats confused, looking at him again. "But I… You…"

"We will talk about what happened later, let's go." Cautiously, he reaches for his hand.

Magnus takes his hand and he feels a stab of pain. He winces and bites his lip harshly, trying unsuccessfully to cover up his reaction so he won't realise.

"I'm sorry!" He moves his own hand away as he mutters a 'Stupid, why did you do that…?' "Alec, please, come with me."

"No!" He reaches out to him with his other hand, but then drops it. "Don't… I should apologise… I…" Bites his lip again looking down. "I'm sorry…"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Alexander…" Magnus sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I heard what he said about me… **_I'm_** sorry I eavesdropped your conversation with your… sister. But I want you to understand that I'm not angry at you. On the contrary, I'm very grateful because you had the guts to do what I didn't in the past… Give Matt Greene a lesson… So thank you, Alec." He smiles honestly at him.

His heart is beating rapidly and when he smiles at him like that it almost stops. He blushes looking away. "I… You're welcome…"

"Yeah… So, are you coming? The cab is waiting and it's true that I'm pretty rich but I like to waste my money in more… pleasurable things, if you know what I mean." Winks at him.

Alec blushes more at that and says, "Yes…" Answering both his questions.

"Okay then, leave your bike there and let's get going. I need my beauty sleep~"

"Wha-?" He says again surprised, but still following him. "Where are we going and why?"

"To my loft, of course." Shrugs, making his way to the cab, still waiting near there. "We need to talk."

"Oh… right…" He drops his eyes, following him, his heart still beating wildly in his chest.

 **~o~**

Already in his building, he opens the door's loft for the boy. "Please, come on in."

 _'_ _Magnus' house…'_ He gulps and enters slowly, still not daring to look at him. Despite what he said, Alec can't believe he isn't angry at him for acting so impulsively… There's a scent lingering all around the place that he recognises as Magnus'. Sandalwood and burned sugar… It's… intoxicating.

"Take a sit, I'll be right back after changing my clothes." He lets him know before disappearing into a room.

"Okay…" Alec nods and looks at him go, then moves to a purple couch, nervously sitting down afraid to even touch anything.

After a few minutes Magnus comes back, carrying a first aid kit. Then he sits beside him and holds out a hand without saying a word.

He looks up at him, his eyes wide. "Wha-?"

"Your hand. We need to take care of that injury." He urges him, taking his hand on his own to disinfect it. "It will sting, I'm sorry."

"Oh… it's okay." He mutters. "I deserve it…" He looks at him for a moment and notices for the first time, that he's dressed in only a silk black kimono and hastily drops his eyes to their hands. His heart is beating so hard he's afraid Magnus is going to hear it. It's all too much. The house, Magnus being so close, holding his hand with surprising gentleness…

"You shouldn't have done that. Punching Matt, I mean. He deserved that and more, he's been an asshole all his life…" He's whispering the words while gently treating Alec's hand. "But I couldn't live knowing that he could've ruined your life because of me, Alexander. I just… I'm glad I got there in time to stop you…" He looks up to stare at him, at his beautiful blue eyes still a bit red and swollen. "It was my fault…"

He listens to his words in awe, loving the feel of Magnus' soft hands on his until suddenly Magnus looks into his eyes and he freezes momentary. "No…" He says, after the shock from Magnus' apology makes him recover. "What are you talking about? **_Nothing_** is your fault. I was stupid, and even though I don't regret punching him, even for a moment, I'm sorry I upset you…" He says and drops his eyes, adding in a whisper. "I'm sorry… You shouldn't concern yourself with me. I'm not important…"

"Wha…? Why would you say that? I brought you here, to my loft, instead of… bringing that bastard to have sex with him. Because, yeah, I was thinking of doing that." He looks down at Alec's hand, he's putting a bandage now. "But you matter, Alec. You matter so much that I left his sorry ass alone in that pretentious chalet of his just to look for you."

He blushes at his words, staring at him dumbfounded even when Magnus drops his eyes, not believing his own ears. _'I matter…? To you?'_ He thinks, the words swirling into his head. "I'm glad you didn't…" He manages to say in the end, referring to Matt. "You deserve so much more." He blushes more, realising he shouldn't have said that and hastily adds what he really wants to ask. "But I don't understand… why would you worry about me…? You should just fire me after what I did… I couldn't have been more unprofessional…" _'Why would I matter to you…?'_ he thinks again, unable to get the words out to ask the most important question.

"I thought about that on the way to your parents' house. What you did back there in the restaurant was **_really_** unprofessional of you, yeah. Irresponsible too. I've known Matt for some years now and I'm sure he would have made of your life a living hell if I hadn't step in so, as I said before, I'm glad I could make it on time." Carefully bandages his hand. "About firing you… Not gonna happen. I **_need_** you, Alexander." Glances at him through his eyelashes. "But I can't always protect you. I'm not a bodyguard nor a babysitter. You're an adult and I want you to act that way from now on. If that's okay with you."

 _'_ _Seems like you saved me again then…'_ he thinks, listening to him. And then Magnus says it again, confusing him more. _"I_ ** _need_** _you."_ Before he has time to wonder though, Magnus looks at him again, scattering his thoughts with his breathtaking appearance. But still he doesn't miss a word he says, and when he's done, Alec drops his eyes ashamed, his cheeks red. "I'm really sorry… Thank you for everything… I promise I won't cause you any more trouble…"

Sighs, feeling frustrated because it seems like he cannot break Alec's barrier. For a minute, he stays there in silence, caressing Alec's hand with his thumb, and then he lets go of it and gets up. "For now, let's go have some rest. It's late. You can stay on the couch for tonight."

He looks up at him surprised, his heart drumming. "Are you sure I should? I just said I wouldn't cause you more trouble…"

"You will if you go at this hour in the night. Please, stay."

"Okay… Also, thank you, for…" Raises his bandaged hand to show what he means, while staring at him.

Looks at his hand then back at him. "It was nothing, I did it as a gratitude for what you did, even if I don't approve the method."

Drops his eyes again, fiddling nervously with the hem of the suit. "I'm sorry…"

"Oh, I almost forgot… Your suit. Obviously you can't sleep with it so I'll lend you something. Come to my room and try some clothes on."

His eyes widen a little at that but he knows Magnus is right, so he just nods, sighing. "Sorry…"

"Would you stop apologizing? It wasn't your fault, not really." Sighs while going to the bedroom and opening the wadrobe. "Choose whatever you like."

Bites his lip to keep from apologising again. "What? No, I couldn't… Just pick whatever **_you_** think…"

"I don't know your size and I'm really tired so please, **_please_** you choose. I'm gonna go grab something to drink…" Exiting the room, he goes to the kitchen and almost drinks a gallon of milk.

"Oh God…" He mutters once Magnus leaves. His hands shaking nervously, he looks at the closet trying to find the oldest and darkest piece of clothing he can find. A really hard thing to do, but in the end he manages to find a dark blue t-shirt tossed in a corner and a pair of gray sweatpants. He puts the pants on first and then takes off the tie and the shirt, facing the closet.

Comes back a few minutes later determined to apologize himself since he was a bit harsh to him. But then he freezes in the doorway, staring at Alec's back.

He's so nervous that he doesn't hear Magnus and just puts the shirt on and leans down to pick up his clothes and fold them.

The big burn scar got covered almost immediately but he got a good view of it before that happened. Regaining some composure, he knocks at the door, giving away his position. "Do you want to have some dinner? I noticed that you didn't touch your food back there… You must be hungry."

He was staring absently on Magnus' room when he heard the knock and jumped. "Ah… No, it's okay, thank you…" His stomach is tied to a knot from the nervousness and everything that happened, there's no way he could eat anything…

"Okay, fine… I'll get you some blankets, it's cold in here at night… Would you care sleeping on the couch?" He can't help but think of the burn scar like a fresh one, like it could still hurt when being touched or grazed.

"Okay… Thank you… I don't mind, no… Anywhere is fine… Are those okay?" He asks pointing to the clothes.

Magnus finally looks at him. "Yeah… Those look good on you."

Alec looks back in his eyes, his heart beating fast. "Thank you… I'm sorry for all the trouble…"

Shakes his head. "No problem." Grabs the blankets from inside the wardrobe. "Come."

Follows him back to the living room, standing beside the couch waiting for instructions.

Gets the couch ready. "I'm sure that after all that happened you're pretty tired so I'll let you rest."

Alec nods. "Thank you again… Goodnight."

"I'll be in my room if you need me." He says before leaving him there.

He lies down under the covers, staring up at the ceiling. _'How am I supposed to sleep?'_ Being so close to Magnus, in his house, Alec's heart is beating rapidly in his chest and he can't stop thinking about him. How beautiful he was, his gentle hands when he took care of his injury even though he didn't have to… And even thanking him… For what he did, even though it was irresponsible and stupid… Telling him he was important… He sighed fiddling with the material of Magnus' shirt. That situation was beyond any fans' craziest dreams… _'But to me you're not just an idol…'_ He thinks, closing his eyes, wrapping his arms around himself, touching the soft material, inhaling his intoxicating scent, wishing to commit to memory everything around him that felt like Magnus.

Magnus was pacing up and down his room, unable to sleep, thinking about how fortunate he was to have the boy there, in his loft, sleeping on his couch, wearing some of his clothes… He wanted nothing more than to have him on his bed, cuddle him… Now that he knew the gorgeous and dark-haired girl wasn't his girlfriend, he could have his way with him. Little by little, he didn't want to scare him off or making him think that he was just a toy to him or something like that. After changing to his pajamas and reading some pages of a book he was almost finishing, he turned off the lights and finally went to sleep.


	8. Nightmares

Hours later, Alec was still lying there wide awake, his eyes open again, unable to believe that everything that happened these past two days wasn't a dream. And more than anything, the events of that night. But there was more than that. Since **_that_** day, Alec had been unable to sleep… Only when he discovered Magnus' music he could finally sleep in peace again, using it to shut out everything. The irony. It was his music that had saved him two years ago, but now that he was so close to him, something he had wished for, for all that time, he was too restless. All he could do was repeat every interaction with him on his mind, again and again, to keep the other thoughts out, while focusing on Magnus' soft breathing, echoing in the silence, to keep himself calm. When he finally managed to fall asleep exhausted, early in the morning, an old nightmare came back to haunt him…

"No…" Alec mutters, moving restlessly in his sleep, tears falling from his closed eyes. "Please… no…" His crying turns to sobbing and he struggles to breathe. "M-ax… No… No, no, no…"

It's really early in the morning, the sunlight warming his face. Groaning and partially awake, Magnus turns to avoid it. That's when he hears him. Too low but it's there. Alec. Crying…? He fights off the sheets and stumbles across his room and the living room to reach him. He isn't mistaken. Alec is sobbing and muttering something in his dream… A name. Max. _'Who is Max…?'_ He thinks to himself before kneeling beside him and stroking his back in what he thinks is a comforting way. After all, nobody did that for him before.

Too lost in the nightmare to feel his soft touch, he keeps on sobbing and muttering. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

He starts to panic, not knowing what else to do. Should he keep stroking his back or wake him up? He knows nothing, and it feels like he's an amateur singer again, shaking on the stage, fighting to find his voice… Magnus closes his eyes then and sings, softly, just for Alec to hear him.

 _"_ _And the angel tore off his wings, putting on a smile. He wanted nothing but to live freely. To love and sin, just like you and me…"_

Magnus' voice manages to reach him, like so many times before and he stills for a moment, the nightmare dissolved. He opens his blue eyes disorientated and looks up at him, but can't stop sobbing and shaking. "Ma-Magnus?"

When he hears his voice, he stops singing and opens his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, it's me. You were having a nightmare…"

"I'm… sorry…" He pieces out through broken sobs. "I'm sorry… I… woke you… up… I didn't… mean…" He still struggles to breathe, tears falling from his eyes. "I'm sorry…"

"Why you…" It breaks his heart seeing him cry so he reaches to touch him but changes his mind at the last minute and hugs him instead. "Cry all you want… Let it all out… I'm not going anywhere…"

He gasps softly, surprised, but immediately hugs him back, clutching at him like a lifeline, sobs wracking his body. "I'm sorry…" He whispers again, and then, believing he's still dreaming, asks him softly. "Magnus… Can you… can you please… sing again…?"

Those words make him frown. _'No, it can't be… Maybe he means it because my voice calms him. Better than nothing…'_ Magnus says to himself, then takes a deep breath and sings another verse of "Raziel".

 _"_ _Just like you and me, demons with a human face. Raziel fell in a lake, the cold water freezing his now mortal body. But he was content, his dream came true. Because he wanted nothing but to live freely. To love and sin, just like you and me. Just like you and me, demons with a human face…"_ He ends, whispering in his ear.

He sighs content, focusing on his voice, his touch and his scent around him and relaxes in his arms, his heartbeat and breathing slowly returning to normal. By the time Magnus stops singing he's barely conscious, having been up all night, and exhausted, he drifts away.

Carefully, he lays Alec down on the couch, covering him with the blanket and gently wiping the tears away, then bends down to kiss him on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, sayang…"


	9. A painful past

Alec sleeps soundly for another hour or so, when the smell of coffee wakes him up. He sits up slowly, putting a hand over his eyes and groaning softly, his head killing him because of all the crying, though he doesn't remember a thing. "Where am I?" He mutters completely disorientated, looking at the house through his fingers. And then he sees Magnus in the kitchen, and **_everything_** comes back to him. Or so he **thinks**.

Magnus is humming a song while making breakfast, moving around to sip at his coffee and check his phone from time to time.

He slowly gets up, and hears Magnus humming one of his old songs. He stands still for a moment, not even breathing, so he can listen to his quiet voice. Wishing to be closer to him he starts walking towards the kitchen, but then a tiny fluffy kitten runs to his feet purring. He picks it up on his arms and smiles petting it. "Hello beautiful…"

"That's Chairman Meow, he seems to like you…" Magnus suddenly appears by their side.

He jolts, surprised to hear Magnus' voice beside him, and looks up at him for a moment, then back to the cat. "Oh… Nice to meet you Chairman…" He tells the kitty, petting it behind the ears as it keeps purring. He then turns to Magnus again, a small smile on his face. "Good morning…"

He loves seeing him smile like that, a nice view for a change. So he corresponds to the gesture. "Good morning… How did you sleep?"

"Uh…" He bites his lip nervously. "I don't know… I… Not good, I guess… I had a weird dream…" He blushes thinking of Magnus hugging him, not realising it **_really_** happened. "And now my head is killing me… What about you?"

"I knew that would happen… Take this." Holds out a painkiller and a glass full of water for him. "Do you want breakfast? I made scrambled eggs for a regiment." He practically ignored the dream implications and that last question. Magnus didn't want to talk about himself, he wasn't important at that very moment.

"Thank you…" He takes them, downing the medicine. "I would love breakfast…" The thought of eating Magnus' cooking makes him feel better already. "How did you know? About the headache?" He asks confused.

Serves the eggs in two plates, hesitating to answer. "You cried and talked in your sleep…"

He stares at him terrified, putting the glass on the counter. "I… did…? I'm sorry… Did I wake you up?"

"I didn't really mind… but yeah, you said something… "Max". May I ask who is it…?" Carefully asks.

"I'm sorry…" He says again, for waking him up, and then pales when he hears Max's name. "Max is…" He says, looking at him, anguished. " ** _Was_** …" He corrects himself. "Max was my little brother…"

Almost drops the plate with the scrambled eggs. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to remind you of such a painful experience…"

"Please don't apologise…" Alec says in a low voice. "It's not your fault, you didn't know…" He then drops his voice even more, and adds looking down. "Everything is **_my_** fault…"

"Your fault? How is that your fault…?" Magnus asks softly.

"I… If I wasn't… "me"…If I wasn't so… useless… He would be alive now…" His hands start trembling slightly. "I…It's my fault… I couldn't… save him… I should have been the one to die…" He finally says, his blue eyes never looking up.

"Hey, no, that's not fair… He isn't here to defend you, you know?" Tries to cheer him up his way. "You just said that. He was your little brother, he must have adored you… And I'm sure that you did what you could to save him. But sometimes that… isn't enough."

His argument works and Alec smiles sadly, his eyes shining with unshed tears, as he thinks of Max who would really scold him if he heard his words. "You're right he would be really mad…" He sighs. " ** _Nothing_** I ever do is enough…" He adds. "But…" He looks up at him, truly thankful for his presence, and forces a smile on his face. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't be pestering you with my problems… I've done enough already…"

"That's where you're wrong… Because I already told you, didn't I? You matter… To me you're really important even if you refuse to believe it, Alexander…" Magnus says, looking back at him. "And I want you to trust me and tell me anything you want, no matter how hard it is. I could never betray you."

He drops the smile, unable to hold onto it any longer, and looks at him pained. "How can I be important? To anyone? To **_you_**?" He whispers. "I don't understand… But I know I can trust you… I do…" He drops his eyes again, taking a deep breath to keep himself from crying and says in a low voice.

"There was a fire in the middle of the night… My little sister came to me crying and woke me up telling me about it. I took her outside but then I saw Max was still in the house… I thought he would be outside with my parents but they had gone out earlier and still hadn't returned. So I went back inside to get him but before I could reach him, part of the burning ceiling collapsed on me and I fell unconscious. When I came to, it was all over. I was in the hospital, alive, and he was dead. Not only I couldn't save him, but I survived when he didn't. I failed him… I should have protected him… I should have died instead…" He says again, his voice broken and his blue eyes glassy, as he struggles to hold back his tears.

Magnus listens carefully, having problems to digest everything that Alec was telling him. It was too much, too painful and heartbreaking. When Alec finished, Magnus slowly approached and hugged him.

"I didn't mean to… but I saw the burn scar in your back last night… And I can tell by that, that you tried very hard to save your precious little brother… But life is cruel sometimes, so is fate. You couldn't save him probably because it was written before you were born. However, you cannot simply say things like you should have died instead of him because you will make the people who love you suffer… and cry. When I was a child there was no one to tell me that so I grew up having trust issues and that's probably the reason I act so coldly sometimes? But yeah, I… I think I'm a better person now. Catarina, Ragnor and Tessa helped me when I most needed it, I learned to rely on them… It's good to have someone by your side when you're feeling so down and suicidal, you know…" Magnus mutters against Alec's dark raven hair. "I'm telling you all this because I want you to rely on me, Alexander. Just tell me what you need and I will give it to you without hesitance."

"Magnus… I…"


	10. The way you are

Once Magnus hugged him, his self-control collapsed and he broke down, the tears he held back for so long falling, as he fought to breathe through broken sobs. His sweet words only made him cry harder, not believing that was really happening. Alec hugged him back, holding on to him, for as long as he would be allowed to… He felt anguished, guilty, happy but also in more pain, hearing that Magnus had been hurt like that too. And he wanted to tell him… _'You… I need_ **you** _… Please, please stay with me…'_ But he couldn't do that… Magnus was just being kind to him… It's not like he felt anything more.

"I'm sorry…" He said instead. "I… I'm so sorry… I'm only causing you trouble…"

"You aren't… When are you going to understand that? How can I make you see that?" Magnus hugs him even tighter.

"I don't… I can't… I'm sorry…" _'Not even_ **you** _could make me understand…'_ Alec thinks. "How could I be anything else than…" He knows he should pull it together. He should just lie and tell him he's okay… But being in his arms is all he ever wanted and he can't find the strength to move…

"It's okay, I get it…" Magnus mutters, staying like that for a bit longer.

 _'There must be someone else. Not that girl but someone who lives in his heart… But where are they now? Why aren't they comforting him? I wish I was them…'_ The very thought hurts like a bitch but what else can he do?

"I'm so sorry…" Alec mutters again, losing himself in his touch, inhaling his scent, trying to empty his head. Finally he manages to calm down, and tells him, still not letting go completely. "Thank you… For everything… I'm sorry… And… I'm sorry… You were so sad too…"

"I told you I don't matter right now. Just… cheer up. For me?" Squeezes Alec before letting him go.

He rubs his eyes, with the back of his hand, immediately missing Magnus' touch, and looks up at him, trying to smile. "Of course you matter…" He says, and adds, smiling a bit more. "Thank you… For being so kind to me… I really don't deserve it…"

"You do." Magnus smiles back, tenderly. "You are my precious assistant, after all, and I need you in top shape."

His smile warms Alec's heart and he chuckles at his words. "Right. I promise I will be… I won't cause you any more trouble."

"Great… But first eat your breakfast, it's getting cold." Magnus half-scolds him.

"Oh… I'm sorry…" Alec smiles, genuinely now, looking down at his plate. "It looks amazing…"

"I'm a man of many talents." The man winks at him. "Bon appétit, sayang."

He blushes at that and looks down hastily, taking a bite. His eyes widen. "Wow… It **_is_** amazing! What does sayang mean?"

"You know, that's a **_really_** good question…" Magnus says smirking. "One I'd love to answer but it's getting late and I need to get ready to work~"

Alec's eyes widen with realisation. "I'm sorry! I wasted too much of your time with my shenanigans! Ah… should I go home? Or come along in that suit?" He makes a mildly disgusted face at the thought. "What do you want me to wear at work?"

"Nah, I'll take you home with my Porsche so you can get some clean and perfectly ironed clothes."

"But you shouldn't go out of your way for me… You're going to be late…"

Sighing, Magnus sips his coffee. "Well, **_you_** are my assistant, Alec… You're the only one who can change my schedule so~"

"I'm still amazed that you don't want to fire me after everything…" He chuckles.

"I know, I'm too benevolent… Thank me later." Magnus winks at him before putting the cup in the sink. "I'll go look for the car keys. I'm not used to driving so I'm not sure where I put them last time I did."

Alec looks at him lovingly once he turns his back, but then he remembers and calls after him. "Uh… shouldn't I go change too?"

"Or you could go naked… Not that I'd mind." The man smiles playfully before disappearing into his room.

Blushing crimson at his teasing, Alec calls after him. "I **_would_** mind!" Then runs off embarrassed to change.

Magnus is laughing openly now, then goes back to the living room where Alec is almost done. "I prefer you like that, you know?"

Alec is still blushing when he turns to face him. Magnus is wearing an elegant maroon suit, his hair is styled in spikes and his gorgeous eyes are emphasized by dark eyeliner once more. As always, he is breathtaking. "Like… what?" Alec finally manages to ask after remembering how to breathe.

"Smiling, joking, looking at me like you want to eat me." Magnus grins.

Blushing even more, Alec tries to joke his way out of it. "Eating you doesn't sound like a very nice thing to do after all you did for me… Not to mention your fans would have my head if I harmed you!" He chuckles nervously.

"Oh, but it would make a **_very_** ni~ce compensation…" Magnus sighs dramatically and winks at him. "Come on now, Snow White. We have a carriage to take and so little time…"

Alec cocks his head to the side looking at him confused. "Compensation?" He mutters, and then adds, "Don't laugh at me…"

"Oh, darling, you have so much to learn…" Shakes his head, making his way to the front door.

Alec follows him out hastily not wanting to make him run late.

Magnus suddenly grabs him by the arm. "Don't run, I don't want you falling down the stairs…"

Looking up at him surprised, Alec's heart skips a beat, and then to hide his true feelings, he pouts, muttering,. "I'm not **_that_** clumsy…"

"Right…" Magnus mutters while slowly letting him go. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overstep our boundaries…"

Alec can't help but laugh at that. "Seriously? You call **_that_** overstepping our boundaries? After all **_I_** did?" Suddenly he comes back to his senses, blushing. "Oh God… And I did it again… I'm really sorry… I don't know what's gotten into me…"

Biting his lower lip, Magnus tries hard not to laugh. "Oh, boy… You never cease to amaze me."

Alec blushes harder dropping his eyes to the floor. "I'm sorry…"

"Why? It's funnier that way."

"Funnier? I'm being rude and disrespectful…"

"No, right now you're being a party pooper."

Alec drops his head more then, torn. He loves talking to him freely but he knows he shouldn't. It's not his place to do so, after all. Even if Magnus doesn't seem to mind… He sighs. "I'm really sorry… please tell me what you want me to do…"

"Just be yourself, Alexander. I hate seeing you act like you have no soul. You aren't a puppet…"

Hearing that, Alec almost laughs again, thinking, _'Be myself…? So should I push you against a wall and kiss you, like I wanted to do since the first second we met…?'_


End file.
